An assortment of jazz, blues, and gospel – with music from Tramaine Hawkins, Asante, Puff Johnson, Dionne Farris, Terence Blanchard, Blind Willie Johnson, Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, Miles Davis, Major Lance, James Brown, and many others! (Soundtracks, Jazz) CD

A gem of a record from the late 60s British scene – one based around the sound poems of writer and poet Terry Durham! The record features Duram speaking and singing his own lyrics – supported by musical backings arranged by John Coleman, shaded in by some wonderful work by players that include Alan Parker on guitar, Evan Parker on saxes, and Chris Karan (from the Dudley Moore and Roy Budd trios) on some especially nice drums! Despite the poetic approach of the session, Durham's rough vocals give it a real sense of humanity – with none of the high-art pretension you might expect, and a real "everyman" sort of feel that comes from the overall delivery of the tunes. There's a nice link here between the other British jazz and rock experiments of the time – and in a way, Durham's a lost link in a lineage of hipper British artists that include Nick Drake and Scott Walker. A few tracks even get a bit funky, and titles include "The Fortunate Isles", "Sleep Train", "White Room Dreaming", "Branwells Corner", "Crystal Telephone", "Moving Through My Life", and "Stills From A Late Nite Movie". CD

A compelling title – as the record was recorded at Nola Penthouse Studios in New York, one of the hippest places to lay down tracks at the time – but the cover shows an image of the Playboy building in Chicago, famous from the TV show Playboy's Penthouse, Hugh Hefner's first foray into television! The actual music is equally compelling too – as the record is one of Ahmad's first non-trio sessions, and features some great larger arrangements from Joe Kennedy – backing the trio of Jamal, Vernel Fournier, and Israel Crosby with some light strings that create a wonderfully dreamy feel! Ahmad's piano glides along wonderfully in such a setting – set free a bit more than usual, and really sounding great on tracks that include "Ivy", "Comme Ci, Comme Ca", "Tangerine", "Never Never Land", "Ahmad's Blues", and "Seleritus". CD

One of the most tripped-out albums of funk you'll ever buy – a rare treasure with a very unusual history! The Stark Reality were a cool little combo formed to work on public television in Boston in the late 60s – and the combo featured some heavy guitars, fuzzed-up vibes, and some monster percussion laid out in tight bass and drum rhythms that were years ahead of their time! The group recorded one rare album – ostensibly a children's record, but based around old compositions by Hoagy Carmichael, completely pulled apart, sliced up, overly harmonized, and spat out into wild funky tunes that bear no resemblance to their originals! John Abercrombie handles the guitar, Monty Stark delivers the vibes and vocals – and titles include "Rocket Ship", "Shooting Star", "Bustin Out Of Doors", "Comrades", "Swing High", "Cooking", "Grandfather Clock", "The Old Prospector", "The Whale", "Junkman's Song", and "Merry Go Round". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful sounds from pianist Carla Bley – a musician who just keeps on blowing us away as the decades move on – and that's saying a hell of a lot, given how many years she's been making music! There's a really special quality to this record – a warmth and maybe just a slight touch of humor, but not in the overdone way of some of Carla's records from the 80s – much more subtle, and mixed with occasional currents of darkness – all handled with this understated sense of personality that perfectly showcases all three members of the group – Bley on piano, Steve Swallow on bass, and Andy Sheppard on tenor and soprano saxes. Swallow maybe sounds more wonderful here than we've heard in years – the record is a great reminder of how many great contributions he can make to music – and titles include the longer cycles of songs "Life Goes On", "Copycat", and "Beautiful Telephones (parts 1 to 3)". CD

A bold, bracing ensemble of improvising musicians from both sides of the Atlantic – and one that features some surprising electric elements too! The lineup includes trumpet from Nate Wooley, alto from Mette Rasmussen, and reeds from Ken Vandermark – balanced with core sounds from Elisabeth Harnik on piano, Steve Heather and Did Kern on drums, Joe Williamson on acoustic and electric bass, Jasper Stadhouders on electric bass and guitar, Terrie Hessels on guitar, and Dieb 13 on turntables and electronics – coming together in this great mix of sonic elements that's really fantastic throughout! The three long tracks were recorded live in performance – and have the Ken Vandermark standard of being dedicated to creative inspirations – Ikue Mori, Richard Serra, and Francis Picabia. Titles include "Telegram", "Foundry", and "Perpetual Desk". CD

An incredible collection of music from the great pianist Lennie Tristano – and maybe the first-ever set to truly get at the range of genius he could express on the piano! Given that Tristano only made a small amount of records during his too-short career, yet also left a major impact on the field of modern jazz – this set really documents the full span of everything that Tristano had to offer – pulled from a wonderful range of his own recordings, all of which appear here for the first time! These aren't casual solo recordings done in the basement – and instead, the package brings together a mixture of studio, live, and even television performances – all with a different spirit on each of the CDs in the set! One of the most revelatory is the final CD – which features a number of tracks in a "free session" in 1948 - with Tristano on piano, Lee Konitz on alto, Warne Marsh on tenor, and Billy Bauer on guitar – coming together with an amazing sound throughout. That same disc also features a superb 1962 live date at the Half Note – with Konitz on alto and Zoot Sims on tenor. CD1 is wonderful too – a selection of live material with the tremendous Billy Bauer on piano – a player, like Tristano, who was instrumental in shaping the sound of his instrument in modern jazz during the postwar years. CD3 features live performances by a sextet that includes Konitz, Marsh, and Bauer – plus Arnold Fishkin on bass and Jeff Morton on drums. CD2 features beautiful solo performances recorded from the early 50s through 1970. CD4 features trio session, most with Peter Ind on bass – while CD5 features different trio and duo material, but with Sonny Dallas on bass. The set is impeccably done – in cooperation with Tristano's family – and given the wealth of material, the whole thing may well have doubled his recording catalog in the process, while also really illuminating so many different aspects of his career! CD

A bold, bracing ensemble of improvising musicians from both sides of the Atlantic – and one that features some surprising electric elements too! The lineup includes trumpet from Nate Wooley, alto from Mette Rasmussen, and reeds from Ken Vandermark – balanced with core sounds from Elisabeth Harnik on piano, Steve Heather and Did Kern on drums, Joe Williamson on acoustic and electric bass, Jasper Stadhouders on electric bass and guitar, Terrie Hessels on guitar, and Dieb 13 on turntables and electronics – coming together in this great mix of sonic elements that's really fantastic throughout! The three long tracks were recorded live in performance – and have the Ken Vandermark standard of being dedicated to creative inspirations – Ikue Mori, Richard Serra, and Francis Picabia. Titles include "Telegram", "Foundry", and "Perpetual Desk". CD

A great setting for guitarist Calvin Keys – one that has the famous Black Jazz funk artist of the 70s working with the younger energy of the Wide Hive Ensemble! The set's got a similar vibe to the recent Wide Hive album that featured Keys in the group – but this time around, Calvin's solos are much more prominent, and carved up with that hard-edged tone we've always loved so much in his music! The tunes are all pretty fresh – and include originals by Keys and others from Wide Hive members Gregory Howe and Matt Montgomery – really perfect settings for Calvin's wonderful work on his instrument, heard here at a level that's tighter than on most recent recordings. Tracks include "Telegraph Blues", "Shaw-Neeq", "The Hernia", "Touch", "You Know The Game", "Electric Keys", and "Backyard". LP, Vinyl record album

A new recording for the legendary ESP label – and one that definitely continues in the best tradition of their avant jazz sides from the 60s and 70s! The music here features the lineup of reedman Mat Walerian, pianist Matthew Shipp, and drummer Hamid Drake – coming together in space that's often open, and quite spiritual – maybe directed a bit more in the spirit of Walerian's style, in a way that makes for some especially compelling sounds from Shipp! Mat plays alto, bass clarinet, soprano clarinet, and flute – thinner reed lines that often demand some more sensitive sounds from Shipp's piano – although he can also be a bit bold at times, too – and Drake, as always, is the perfect accompanist no matter what direction the music takes – unfolding in a double-length live performance, with tracks that include "Ultimate Insurance", "Shrine", "Teleport", "Gentle Giants", "Gate", "Coach On Da Mic", "Tiger", "Sit Back Relax & Watch", and "Good Trip Is A Safe Trip". CD

A fantastic look at the righteous current of energy that swept through American music at the end of the 60s – that huge wave of knowledge and political inspiration that still stands as one of our favorite moments in jazz and soul! The Civil Rights generation had gotten some things accomplished, but not everything – and a new wave of action arose in various scenes of the underground – not just pushing the musical formats past anything that had happened before, but also doing so with a strong message of pride and empowerment! This collection surveys some of the best tracks of that moment – and also provides a great batch of historical notes to put the whole thing in context – done in collaboration with the book of the same name, but equally great as a soundtrack and document on its own. The package is overflowing with Dusty Groove classics – and titles include "Sweet Songs" by Sarah Webster Fabio, "Surtal Ihklas" by Doug Carn, "Vibes From The Tribe" by Phil Ranelin, "Desert Fairy Princess" by Horace Tapscott & The Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, "Sounds From The Bush" by The Mandingo Griot Society with Don Cherry, "Is It Too Late" by Duke Edwards & The Young Ones, "Strong Men" by David McKnight, "Black Narcissus" by Joe Henderson, "Malcolm X" by Phil Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble, "Mother Of The Future" by Carlos Garnett, "Red Black & Green" by Roy Ayers, "African Rhythms" by Oneness Of Juju, and "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by Gil Scott-Heron. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD